That book was so depressing to me as a teen because the brainy nerd with Prometheus' gift of fire, reason, and science, via way of his spectacles,...
Became a brainy froth in the surf around Castle Rock.

I was watching a Spy-craft documentary that mentioned an historical connection that I was heretofore unaware of. A bit of research revealed that the the US Navy had made public the basic facts back in 2010.

USN CWO John Anthony Walker, a Communications Specialist, walked into a Soviet Embassy in December of 1967 and communicated an offer of his services while handing over key cards for the KL-47 (A seven rotor encryption machine used by the US Military ~ akin to the 4 rotor Nazi Enigma Machine central to the plot of the Historical Drama U 571 )

In need of an actual KL-47 machine to make use of said key cards, within a month, the Soviets conspired with the North Koreans to obtain the needed equipment and embarrass the U.S. in the process.

A small US Navy Patrol-Craft-sized boat, doing ELINT & SIGINT within N. Korean territorial waters was fired upon and forced to surrender to the NKN.

The whole affair took on the unsavory flavor of the Gary Powers affair from a decade previous and the US State Department had to Mea Culpa before NK would release the 76 Members of the Pueblo's crew. This drug out until 12/23/68.

Inspired by the initial sensation of it all, D.C. Fontana banged out a script and it was rushed into production for the 9/27/68 airing date of one of the more cerebral plots of Cloak & Dagger for the last season of Star Trek TOS. The Enterprise Incident

From early 1968 until the latter part of the 1980s, the Soviets were privy to secrets of the highest magnitude. Including the disposition of all of the US Navy's Ships and Submarines.